


Hot blooded

by superwholockfangirl



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Period, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Intersex Keith (Voltron), Keith on period, M/M, Minor Adam/Shiro - Freeform, Platonic Cuddling, Poor Keith, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Shiro is doing his best, blood but no violence, broganes, so is adam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 06:47:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17361023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superwholockfangirl/pseuds/superwholockfangirl
Summary: Intersex!Keith getting his period for the first time. Shiro as his new guardian does his best to help Keith deal with the unexpected situation.





	Hot blooded

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, first things first: I'm not intersex and this might not be accurate. I did some researches but I have no personal experience with intersex people. I did my best to make this accurate and be respectful towards the community. If I made a mistake, I'm really sorry and please don't hesitate to tell me.
> 
> Apart from that, this is only supposed to be a cute fluffy OS that I wrote because I was having cramps and couldn't sleep because of the pain.

 

 

Shiro glanced at his wrist watch worriedly. The cool morning breeze was making him shiver and he pulled his uniform jacket around himself tighter as he continued to wait. “Where’s he got to?”, he muttered under his breath. Ever since Keith had moved in with him after he had been formally adopted, they were meeting here before lesson to their daily hoverbike race and so far Keith had never been late. Quiet the reverse. Usually he was already impatiently waiting for the older man ten minutes early.

After checking his phone for any missed calls, he decided to go back. Maybe Keith had forgotten to set his alarm? But usually he woke up by himself and Shiro believed to have actually heard him already this morning.

He was a little worried. After all, he was responsible for the kid and Keith was only with them since a few months so he was still getting used to his new role as a guardian. It wasn’t always easy. Keith still had to deal with a lot of things regarding his past and with his thirteen years, he certainly had his own head already. Still, all in all they got along great and Shiro had never come to regret his decision. Seeing the amazing progress Keith made and how he opened up to them a little more each day was more than worth all the trouble.

When he entered the little house Iverson had them teeth-gnashingly ceded them now that they were three, the first thing he got aware of was the sound of running water. Keith was still showering? Weird. Quietly he approached the bathroom. That was when he could hear the muffled crying and sobbing through the door.

Shiro wasted no time to knock. “Keith, I’m coming in!”, he called out before stepping inside. Fortunately, the door wasn’t locked.

Immediately, his eyes fell onto the blood trail on the floor. His stomach dropped as he ran over to the shower pulling the half drawn curtain aside. Keith was sitting on the bottom of the shower, face hidden behind his knees that he had drawn up. His arms were slung tightly around his shivering frame while the water was still pelting down on him. Around him the water had turned slightly red.

Shiro hurried to turn down the water that had gone cold by now before he kneeled down next to the sobbing boy. “Keith, buddy, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”, he tried to get his attention but without success. At least, Keith merely tried to fight him when he tried to pry his arms from his legs thus he could search for injuries. Only that there were none. Frowning he looked at Keith’s back and even pulled up his hair to have a better look at his neck. Nothing. Still, the water went redder and redder.

“I-I tried to make it- make it stop.”, Keith got out before he started to cry again.

Shiro began to panic. “Where does all this blood come from?”

This only made Keith sob harder and suddenly Shiro had a very good idea what this was. Gently, he pushed Keith’s legs down to confirm his suspicion. Keith let it happen wordlessly. The only sound to hear was his frantic sobbing and the small gasp Shiro made when he found he had been right.

“Keith, are you on your period?”

Keith refused to meet his eyes when he nodded.

“Shit!” The thing was, Shiro had of course known Keith was intersex. But up to this point it had only been a word, you know like AB-. Something that was good to know, but didn’t affect your everyday life. He had spoken to the doctors that worked for the Garrison and they had assured him everything was fine and that there were no complications expected. With Keith, he had barely spoken about that topic at all. He only knew that Keith identified as male (at least, he had insisted on male pronouns when Shiro had asked him) and since he was passing, there had never arisen questions about his gender from outside.

Of course, Shiro had planned to talk about this with Keith some day but not like this! He had meant to wait a little longer until Keith was a little less closed off and he had the time to research some stuff first. It had never even occurred to him that Keith would get a period! Looking at the shock and confusion on Keith’s face, he hadn’t expected this either.

“Come here!”, As carefully as possible, Shiro lifted the crying boy up and sat him down onto a dark grey towel. Quickly, he went to the small shed to get out their hugest and softest towels that he draped over Keith’s shoulders. A smaller one, he laid over his legs to cover him. He didn’t know what else to do, so he sat down in front of him drying his hair and talking reassuringly to him.

Slowly, Keith stopped crying and while he still refused to look anywhere near Shiro, the older boy thought of it as progress.

“Is this the first time it happened?”, Shiro asked the still shaking boy who nodded hesitantly while keeping his eyes firmly locked onto the wall behind him.

While Shiro was pondering about what he was supposed to do now, he noticed Keith’s grip tightening around his middle and his eyebrows drawing together like in deep concentration. “Are you in pain?”

Keith shrugged which told Shiro everything he needed to know. “Cramps?”

The younger boy closed his eyes in surrender, then nodded.

“Okay, okay.”, Shiro brooded on what to do. They had no stuff for periods. No hot water bags, no pantyliners or tampons. Wait, did Keith even know how to use tampons? And if not would he be able to show him? He doubted it. Well, at least they had some painkillers, but could he give them to Keith just like this? Did he need a prescription? They needed help. “Listen, buddy, I’ll be right back, okay? I need to make a call.” He didn’t like leaving Keith on his own like this but he had to call Adam. If anybody knew about periods, it was the guy who grew up with three sisters! (Well, or any woman, but Shiro doubted Keith would let a stranger anywhere near him while he was like this.)

Fortunately, Adam immediately answered his call. “Shiro? Shouldn’t you loose another race to Keith, right now?”

“Yes, no, listen, Keith didn’t show up and when I went home to check on him, I found him crying in the shower. He’s on his period, Adam and I have no idea what to do!”

“What?! Oh shit!”

“I mean, where do I even get tampons from and are they better than pantyliners? And what am I supposed to do with him in the meantime? He’s really bleeding a lot so I can’t just put him into some PJs and sit him down onto the couch. Is this huge amount of blood normal, by the way because-“, he knew he was rambling but he couldn’t stop himself. Therefore he was actually feeling relieved when Adam interrupted him.

“Takashi, it’s okay! I’m coming home tight this instant and I stop by at the drugstore on my way, okay? In the meantime, you should calm him and keep him as warm as possible. That helps against cramps if he should be in pain. But don’t put him in a bath! I’ll be there in ten and we take it from there, okay?”

Shiro took a deep breath and nodded.                     

“Takashi?”

Right, Adam couldn’t see him. “Yeah, okay. Sounds like a plan.” With that, the line went dead and he hurried back into the bathroom.

Keith had buried his face into his knees once again and refused to look up when Shiro re-entered the room. There was already a small pool of red visible on the towel beneath him and Shiro wondered if the amount of blood was even normal anymore. If it went on like this the next few days, Keith wouldn’t have left any blood inside his body at all.

Cautiously so as not to startle the younger boy, he sat down in front of him adjusting the towel around his shoulders. Keith’s skin felt cold to his touch so he turned up the heating. “How are you doing, buddy? I called Adam. He’s on his way.”

This finally made Keith look up at him. “But he has class.”, he croaked.

“Don’t worry about that.” Shiro replaced the wet towel around his shoulders by a dry one. “This really caught you by surprise, huh?”, he tried for a conversation against the awkward silence while brushing away the younger boy’s hair from his face.

Keith looked down at his hands shrugging. The whole thing was simply too embarrassing. Why was his body so weird? He hadn’t needed the man he adored and idolized like nobody else to find him crying naked in the shower after freaking out over his fucking period! They had learned all about these things in biology lesson two years ago after all, so there really hadn’t been a reason to overact like this. Yet, it had happened and now, even Adam was skipping class because of his stupid bleeding uterus!

He jumped when suddenly an arm was draped around his shoulders. Shiro had sat down next to him and now reached out for him awkwardly. Keith stayed stiff, not leaning into the gentle touch but not

breaking away from it either.

“Don’t worry, buddy, Adam will be here soon enough and he’ll bring tampons and stuff. He knows way better than I what to do right now.”, he stroked through Keith’s wet locks while he continued talking, “This is not the end of the world, you know, it’s a natural process and there is no reason to be ashamed by it.”

“Could we not talk about this, please?”

“Sure. But we won’t get around this topic forever. We should actually sit down some time together and talk about all these things. Well, or you could talk to Adam in case you should feel more comfortable with him.”

Keith shook his head. He and Adam got along great but well, he and Shiro had the closer relationship. After all, it had been Shiro who had gotten him out of foster care and given him a second chance and it was Shiro who had formally adopted him and always let him win their daily races. Still, that didn’t mean he was ready to talk about _this_ to him! Maybe Adam could help him out of this. While Shiro always wanted to talk everything out, Adam preferred deeds over words just like himself. 

Speaking of the devil. “Shiro? Keith?”

“In the bathroom!”, Shiro called and seconds later Adam knelt down in front of him with a worried look on his face.

“Hey, kiddo. How are we holding up?”, he turned from Keith to his boyfriend guessing – completely correctly- that Keith wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“He’s having cramps. I wanted to give him something against the pain but I wasn’t sure what would be appropriated. Do you have the stuff? I want to get him out of the bathroom and into something dry. This can’t be comfortable.”

Adam held up a small plastic bag as a confirmation. “Do you think you can get some fresh underwear and his Pyjamas?”, he asked his boyfriend before he turned to Keith, “Do you know how to use tampons?”

Keith frowned despite the deep flush colouring his cheeks. What was there to know? Just put them in and done, right? “Can’t be that complicated.”, he muttered avoiding eye contact with the two older men.

Adam nodded at him and he left the bath to gather the things his fiancé had asked for. He could hear Adam closing the door behind him. If it was to make sure the room stayed warm enough or to keep the following talk private, Shiro couldn’t say.

When he entered Keith’s room, the first thing he noticed was the blood on the linen and the crumbled sheets on the ground. Shiro drew the conclusion that Keith had woken up in his own blood, panicked and quickly run to the bathroom in the attempt to clean himself and not get the sheets any messier. Poor kid. Shiro didn’t want to imagine how he would feel if he suddenly started bleeding out of nowhere. It had to be completely terrifying for Keith. After all, the poor boy had only recently turned thirteen and therefore was only now starting to hit puberty. Keith had mostly grown up in foster care and nobody had ever taken much time for him which explained why he didn’t know much about his intersex identity. Still, it was hard to believe for Shiro that nobody had ever bothered enough to, at least explain the basics to him. As if being a teenager wasn’t confusing enough!

Sighing, he got out the things Adam had asked for. He would change the sheets later. 

This time, he knocked before he entered the bath. Keith was still sitting on the towel that was slowly staining red and Shiro did his best not to stare. In front of him, Adam had arranged different kinds of pantyliners and tampons in every imaginable size and colour was now looking expectantly at the younger boy who kept staring down at his hands. Shiro hung the PJs over the edge of the bathtub and laid the underwear in Keith’s range.

Adam nodded at him, then turned back to Keith. “Do you want to try it on your own?”

Keith nodded and while he kept his head bowed, Shiro could see the tips of his ears having flushed crimson red. Poor kid.

“If you need help, we’ll be in the livingroom.”, Adam told him. Shiro got the hint and followed his boyfriend outside with a last encouraging smile at Keith.

“What are we dealing with, Takashi?”, Adam began as soon as they were out of earshot.

“I’m not sure but I don’t think he knew this would happen. I mean, you know how neglected he was when he came to us but I assumed _someone_ would’ve told him what to expect! And waking up in your own blood without knowing what’s going on would probably traumatize everyone.”

Adam sighed having already feared his fiancé would say this. “I’m going to make an appointment with a doctor as soon as possible. In case there are other things we, respectively Keith should know.”

That sounded reasonable. “And what are we going to do now?”

“If Keith doesn’t need me, I’m going out to buy some ibuprofen, a heating bottle and some ice cream or something. You should focus on keeping him comfortable. You know better than me how to do this.”

“I didn’t get the impression he feels overly comfortable around me.”, Shiro muttered.

“Well, he’s embarrassed, of course. You are his hero!”, Adam stated like it was the most obvious thing ever having Shiro frown at him in confusion.

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would he-“

“Shiro, you are the most oblivious walnut ever!”, Adam sighed, “He idolizes you so much! Don’t you remember the fight he got into last week when someone was talking shit about you and he went right out and broke the kid’s nose? That incident almost got him expelled.”

“This was about me?”, Shiro couldn’t believe it. Warmth blossomed in his chest and he couldn’t help the proud little grin spreading on his face. He should probably worry about Keith throwing punches this deliberately but the childish side of him enjoyed the thought of having the younger boy’s loyalty. This meant he at least was doing _something_ right.

His boyfriend could only role his eyes. “For someone who cares so much about Keith’s  communication skills, you sure as hell are shit at it.”

This should probably hurt. It didn’t. Shiro scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “You might be right about that.”

“I usually am, punk. Whatever. Keith is in there for almost ten minutes now and either he got it and is too embarrassed to come out or he needs help with it. Either way, I’m going to get some painkillers now and you should try to talk to him.”

Shiro’s eyes widened comically. He couldn’t- “What if he needs help with the tampons? If he doesn’t get them- well, _in_ or something like this? I don’t know how-“

“Then you tell him to take the pantyliners!”, Adam had already shrugged on his jacket again and was now patiently waiting for his boyfriend to handle the situation thus he could leave. “Honestly, Shiro, it’s going to be alright. Just remember, patience yields focus!”

“I hate it when you say that.”, Shiro sighed, “Alright, alright. I can take it from here, I guess.”

“Good boy!”, Adam praised and before Shiro could say anything else, he had already vanished through the front door.

Shiro tried not to think about the fact that he wasn’t prepared for any of this while he made his way over to the bathroom. He knocked lightly upon the door. “Keith? Can I come in?” A minute of silence followed, then the door opened and Keith excited the bathroom already dressed up in the new Pyjama. The none existing pattern of the white tiles really appeared to have caught his interest since he refused to look up at the older man even as Shiro notched him lightly. “Are you all done, buddy?”, he asked making an inarticulate gesture in the hope Keith would know what he was talking about.

It was only now that Shiro took notice of the dirty Pyjamas and the shorts Keith must’ve been wearing this morning in the younger boy’s hands. He was awkwardly pushing them back and forth in his hands trying to hide the dark red spots. “You can give them to me.”, Shiro offered gently.

Keith, however shook his head. “Can do this on my own.”, he insisted making the older boy sigh.

“Okay. You can dump them in the washing machine. Adam is getting some ibuprofen for you and ice cream, but he’ll be right back. How about you lay down on the couch in the meantime? Your bed is, well, a little unusable right now.”, Shiro suggested.

Keith went scarlet red. Right, he had forgotten about what a mess he had made. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

“That’s not your fault. Just lay down, okay? I’ll be with you in a minute.” For a second, it looked like Keith was about to protest but then, he actually did as he was told rolling in on himself on the couch.

Keith looked so small and vulnerable like this, he felt actually tempted not to leave at all again. Quickly, he got Keith’s blanket out of his room together with the plush hippo he knew Keith had from his father, a glass of water and some chocolate. He found that they had no fresh sheets left, so making the bed would have to wait until the bedding had dried. Perfect timing, Adam! Anyway, maybe it would be good to have Keith stay in the living room for the next few hours where Shiro could have an eye on him.

Back in the living room, Shiro found the younger boy still in the same position as before. Keith was shivering in his short-sleeved Pyjama shirt, so he draped the blanket over his curled up form. For a second, Keith seemed to relax a little because of the warmth but soon enough his stomach began to cramp again. Shiro noticed the pained expression on his features. He sat down on the edge of the couch laying the plushie down next to him. To his surprise, Keith grabbed it and pressed it against him in a desperate hug. “That bad, huh?”, he asked intelligentially.

Keith only shrugged.

“I know you’re embarrassed by this and I’m probably not the best counterpart for it anyway, but, you know, if you want to talk about it or have any questions, I-“

“Does this make me a girl now?”, Keith blurted out hiding his flushed face into the cover.

Shiro’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected this question and he didn’t really know how to answer it either. “Well, no, of course not. I mean, unless you are feeling like a girl.”

Keith frowned, for a second forgetting his embarrassment. It was a little hard to feel all manly while there was blood coming out of your vagina!

“What I’m trying to say is, genitals aren’t the only thing you detect your gender by. You know that there are people born in the wrong body. They can’t identify with their biological gender and no matter how ‘male’ they might look, they will never be able see themselves as such.”

“Are you trying to say that I’m trans?”, the younger one frowned in confusion.

“Yes, no, I- what I wanted to say is we are all different and you don’t have to decide between male and female.”

For the first time today, Keith actually looked him in the eye. Surprise was written all over his face and it appeared to Shiro that maybe this was actually new to him. “What do you mean, I don’t have to decide?”

“Well, gender is a complicated thing, buddy. Maybe, in a few years when you learned a little more about yourself and are better capable of gasping the concept of your gender identity, you will feel more drawn to one side. And maybe you won’t. Both is okay. You have to decide for yourself with what you feel comfortable. Just try to be yourself and everything is going to work out.” Or at least, he hoped so. “Adam and I are going to accept and support you no matter what.”

“Yes?”, Keith looked up at him with huge violet eyes. It hurt to hear how hopeful he sounded. Like this wasn’t self-evident. Shiro swallowed before he squeezed his blanket covered knee.

“Yes. Of course. I told you before, I won’t give up on you.”

Keith wiped his eyes suspiciously but before Shiro could say something about it, another question caught him off guard. “Does this mean I can get pregnant now too?”

 _Only over my dead body_. “I- I’m not sure, buddy, but I would guess so. We’re going to get you a doctor’s appointment soon enough, so he can answer all the questions Adam and I probably don’t know about. Getting pregnant would require doing something with a boy you’re a bit too young for yet though. Or at least, I hope so.”                                                                                      .”

Keith chuckled. “Don’t worry about that.” Somehow Shiro didn’t find this very reassuring. He let it slide though.

“Can I ask you something too?”, Shiro waited for Keith to nod before he continued, “Has nobody ever sat down with you and talked about all these things with you?”

Keith seriously thought about it. “One of the older boys in foster care once told me it meant that I’m a freak. Then, he pulled down my trousers and laughed at me. But this probably isn’t what you meant.” The easiness Keith was telling him this with was shocking.

“No, buddy.”, he sighed, “That really isn’t what I meant.”

Keith had leant back against the armrest and Shiro’s hand found its way into Keith’s hair all by itself. Before he knew it, his fingers were carding gently through the younger boy’s still wet locks. Keith wasn’t always up for physical affection and Shiro usually made a point in asking for permission before he touched him. Today, however, he had completely forgotten about it, but fortunately, Keith didn’t seem to mind. He even closed his eyes as he leaned into the touch. Such moments were a rare occurrence and Shiro treasured them like nothing else. “Do you maybe want to-“, he began expecting to be turned down immediately.

Keith understood immediately what he wanted and before the older man had finished his sentence, he had already shifted to make room on the couch. Shiro smiled brightly as he slid underneath the cover and laid his arm around Keith’s shoulder thus he could snuggle closer into his side. To his very surprise, Keith slung both arms around his middle and nestled into his chest. He couldn’t remember Keith ever having been that open around him. Smiling, he went back to stroking the soft strands of his black mop.

“I’m sorry you’re having so much trouble with me.” Keith’s voice was muffled by his Shirt.

“Don’t say that! You’re not a burden to me, Keith. I love spending time with you.” He was quick to reassure the younger one. It was true after all. Keith and Adam were his family and he would die for them.

“I like spending time with you too.”, he yawned glancing at Shiro’s wrist watch , “Don’t you have to get ready for lesson?”

“Nah, I think I’ll skip class today. I’ll call them later to tell them we all have food poisoning. Thinking about my cooking skills that even sounds pretty realistic. This way, Adam won’t have to teach this afternoon either and we can eat ice cream the whole day.”

Keith wanted to comment on how much of a bad influence he had on Shiro (as far as he knew, the older man had never skipped school in his whole life!) but right now, he simply felt too comfortable. The warmth of the blanket made him feel sleepy and the weight of Shiro’s hand resting on the small of his back added to that feeling. He hadn’t slept well last night and the crying had exhausted him even further. “That would be nice.”, he murmured instead.

When Adam came back forty minutes later with a box of ibuprofen, a new heating bottle and a repertoire of chocolate and ice cream that they could live of until New Year (it was November), he found the boys cuddled together deeply asleep. He smiled.

Cautiously as not to wake them, he put the painkillers on the table and adjusted the blanket. Then he quickly took a picture (Takashi would kill him if he wouldn’t) and switched off the lights before he left them to rest. _His boys_ , he realized, _he would do everything for them_.


End file.
